Wyoming and Mount Rushmore

Trips often end up with themes, intentional and unintentional.  Our intended theme was about seeing and appreciating the natural beauty and the history of our country.  Of course we never said this aloud, but when you look at our itinerary it is self evident.  But intended themes don't always dominate, and this trip's undercurrent was all about eating.  Where and when to eat on a road trip are key questions and sometimes we just really really fumbled it. (see dinner after Glacier and lunch in Great Falls.)

I was determined that today we would eat well.  So leaving Buffalo, Wyoming, I suggested that we pick up sandwiches to take with us and eat at Devil's Tower.  Thus began a quest through the not so booming metropolis of Buffalo.  We had already checked out of the hotel room when I remembered that the guest guide had mentioned a cute sounding sandwich shop.  J patiently went back in to ask at the front desk.  Of course I couldn't remember the name of the place, so instead J got directions to the local grocery store.  Buffalo Wyoming is set at the crossroads of I-90 and I-25.  Our hotel was at one end of town, all the restaurants were at the other.  We drove through the quaint town, looking for the sandwich shop without much luck.  We found a bakery and J went in to get sandwiches and baked goods.  But the sandwiches were too fussy for our kids, so off to the IGA we went.  J had better luck here - bread, cheese, ham and grapes - so we were finally on our way to Devil's Tower.

Devil's Tower is an odd kind of tourist attraction.  Geology in the starring role.  The tower is an igneous intrusion, left behind when the surrounding sedimentary rock eroded.  But scientists don't really know how it came to be - there are several theories.  It is a somewhat small landmark, only visible within about 5-10 miles of it.  The highlight is a mile long loop trail around its base, or for the more adventurous, a climb up it.  We did neither.  We ate in the shade, took pictures and screamed at the hornets near the women's bathroom. We stamped our passports and walked over to the base of the Tower.  And then we finished eating our bakery treats (delightful, so that even though the sandwiches were only so so, the bakery stop was worth it.)  And on the way out, we stopped to check out the Prairie Dog town.

Meanwhile, have I mentioned that Sturgis, South Dakota is the home of an enormous motorcycle rally in early August?  Thousands of bikers travel across the country like a migration of salmon, returning upstream to their place or origin.  They envelop Sturgis and its environs.  We had seen a lot of bikers on our trip, and Devil's Tower was no exception - it's only an hour or so west of Sturgis and you could tell by the number of bikers.  For my dad (a Laredo parody)

As I drove down the streets of Sturgis,
As I drove through South Dakota one day,
I spied a young biker, dressed in black leather;
Dressed in black leather and hot as the day.

I can tell by your outfit that you are a biker,
You can tell by my outfit that I am one too,
We can tell by our outfits that we are both bikers
Git yourself an outfit and be a biker too!

 We joined the migration east, and then found our way to Mt. Rushmore.  Keystone, SD, the home of Mt. Rushmore was crawling with bikers.  We made our way up to the monument.  Monkey was intent on learning the names of each of the Presidents on the mountain.  We had to stop and just look at it while he repeated their names over and over until he had them memorized.  Only downside is he is confused about why George Washington is not still our president today.  He isn't buying the whole "he's dead" argument.

We watched the movie and all three kids earned their junior ranger badges.  We browsed studied the gift shop.  Monkey got a bison, named Oliver (the number 11 train.)  G got a prairie dog that was named Lewis after MUCH discussion.  S got several new books and commemorative coins.  We hiked the little trail to see the monument up closer.  We ate dinner in the cafeteria (J and I had been here 16 years earlier.  Apparently the bison burger is not as good anymore.)  We opted not to stay for the lighting ceremony as we had tired crabby children. So instead we scouted the parking ramp looking for a few more license plates before finding out hotel in Rapid City.